Businesses and residents will continue to enjoy dining and meeting outdoors until at least the end of 2024 after we extended our outdoor dining program.
Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore said extending the program was a natural consequence of the long-term vision for the city.
“In the wake of the Covid pandemic, we wanted to do everything we could to help businesses get back on their feet while bringing communities together,” the Lord Mayor said.
“It’s wonderful to see people out on the streets, connecting with each other and enjoying their neighbourhood while supporting local businesses.”
We’ve helped more than 500 businesses open up dining on footpaths and streets, since the program’s introduction at the start of the pandemic.
New outdoor dining licences were granted to 148 businesses for on-street trading.
A staggering 4,460 square metres of footpath and road space were converted into alfresco dining areas.
It’s a program which has quickly become an essential part of life in the city.
“It’s added so much vibrancy to the street frontage of the hotel. We are now far busier overall due to the passing traffic seeing activity out the front of the venue and being drawn to the venue as a result,” said Brett Robinson, CEO of The Point Group that runs the Dolphin Hotel in Surry Hills.
"They are generally the first seats to fill up each day and the area that drives interest and further patronage once it’s occupied. People love the casual and social setting it provides.”
We worked with the NSW Government to reallocate road space, fast-track applications and waive fees to help bars, cafes and restaurants manage the economic impact of the pandemic by allowing patrons to dine outside.
We’re now investing another $4 million to extend the program until the end of next year, with current alfresco dining licenses set to expire in April. The associated footpath fees have already been waived until 2025.
Businesses that want to extend their licence need to apply by the end of April.
Published 21 March 2023, updated 29 February 2024
